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Creative Planet, Inc. , the parent company of Animation World Network, has secured an additional US$38 million in new equity financing. The new funding will help drive its strategy to deliver technology solutions and resources for increased cost-efficiencies in the moving image production process. Funding will be used to expand the ongoing development and integration of Creative Planet's technology and database assets, which include MovieMagic Producer (
www.moviemagicproducer.com ), Studio System and its recently announced e-commerce initiative with Commerce One. TMCT Ventures, the largest venture capital fund in Southern California, led this new round. Additional participants include: J. & W. Seligman Funds; Chase Capital Partners; Waterview Advisors; PaineWebber Capital; SunAmerica Investments; East River Ventures; Ares Management; Trekk Opportunity Partners; Robert Day and several of the Hillman Family Trusts. "Creative Planet has always been committed to bringing to market the applications and resources creative professionals require. With this new investment, it is exciting to see that leaders within the investment community share our same vision," said Allen DeBevoise, chairman and chief executive officer, Creative Planet. "Having such well respected partners invest in Creative Planet under current market conditions shows a real confidence in the company's ability to achieve lasting success." In addition, Mark S. Menell, a partner at TMCT, and former co-head of Technology Mergers and Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, will join Creative Planet's board of directors. Creative Planet's board currently includes Jack Valenti, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Frank Biondi, former CEO of both Viacom and Universal, as well as Ted Leonsis, president, Interactive Properties Group, America Online, Inc., Stuart Wolff, CEO of Homestore.com and Alan Meckler, CEO of Internet.com. "Creative Planet's combination of traditional, offline applications and forthcoming Web-based solutions, positions it as a first mover in developing technology solutions within the entertainment market space," said Menell. "More importantly, we believe that Creative Planet's strong management team is continuing to stay clearly focused on its original goals. They set their sights on delivering efficiencies to professionals within the entertainment industry and they have not deviated from this course."
